Drone competition

In another sign that the US does not want to rely on Chinese technology comes news that the US Government and private investors are pushing for more production of drones hardware and software. It follows concerns about the deployment in the US of 5G technology from the Chinese company Huawei.

DJI, a Chinese hardware maker and the leader in the production of drones, is already facing competition from US companies such as Skydio, who are responded to the opportunities presented by new regulations and proposed legislation intended to restrict government agencies from buying foreign drones, claiming they are a potential conduit for cyberattacks.

$300 Kano PC

At a time when every child must have a computer comes news that educational electronics maker Kano is preparing to introduce a $300 Windows laptop.

There is tremendous demand for cheaper computers as thousands of students are forced to take online classes since the coronavirus pandemic. The competition to produce affordable devices has intensified with a number of companies shifting the production focus away from the consumer market.

Kano has been associated with Disney- and Harry Potter-themed options for a while, but is seizing the opportunity in the low end of the educational laptop market.

TikTok rivals

People are turning away from TikTok and downloading Byte and Dubsmash as the US Government threatens to ban the Chinese app.

TikTok has risen in popularity worldwide and more so in the US as American youth are drawn to continued meme videos. This is also another sign of the tensions between the US and China over technology.

Language learning

Forget about the language classes you had at school and the trips taken to other countries to learn a new language. Babbel boasts that they can teach you to speak like a native in three weeks.

The technique is to immerse you in real-life situations so that you do not waste time with all those vocabulary drills with words you may never need. And all it takes is 15 minutes a day.

So don’t just marvel at the fluency of your friends, get practising, and for 15 minutes a day in three weeks you should be fluent in French and Spanish or another 12 languages now offered by Babbel at a bargain 50 per cent discount.